She went inside, put on her apron, and got right down to work on the finishing touches on the multi-tier cake for the grand opening of the new bookstore in the next town over. It had been a big undertaking with a lot of design work, including specific book covers. She’d spent several hours on it, starting some of the decorations over a week ago, but these were the projects that made her love her job every day.
The last hour was always her favorite, when everything finally came together. This time, even better than she’d dreamed.
Sara walked in just as Kelly made one last check for imperfections.
“That might be the most creative cake you’ve made yet,” Sara said. “It’s gorgeous!”
“Thanks.” It had turned out even prettier than what she’d had in mind. She liked being a part of everyone’s special moments.
Sara stepped closer. “Those books look so real.”
“I hope it gets there in one piece. Dad’s going to drive my SUV so I can sit in the back with it. I’m a little nervous. You know how the roads are over to Farmington.” Kelly swept her hair behind her ear. “That’s an awful road.”
“You’re right,” Sara said. “I hate that drive.”
Kelly and Andrew used to drive from Bailey’s Fork to Farmington to go to the gourmet kitchen shop and ogle the high-dollar cookware and utensils, then pore through all the specialty food items and ingredients. They could blow a whole paycheck in an afternoon in that place. It had never felt like an extravagance, though, but more like an investment in their future. They’d challenged one another. Keeping their creativity and craft sharp. But on that ride back, it never failed that they’d tease they should’ve ridden horses instead of driven because of those bumpy back country roads—the only way to get to Farmington from there unless you swung all the way up to Richmond and took the highway over.
“If we have enough time, we might go ahead and take the Richmond route. I sure would hate to mess this cake up after all this work.” Making repairs onsite was always nerve-wracking. Plus, that looked bad to the customer. She hadn’t been back to that gourmet kitchen shop since Andrew had left town. At least now enough time had passed that the memory didn’t hurt anymore. Instead, she could enjoy it for what it had been. A wonderful part of her journey as a professional baker. If the cake made it in one piece, maybe she and Dad could stop in and do a little ogling of fancy bakeware together.
She finished the last few touches then went out front to help Sara prep for the early morning rush. Sara started the coffee and Kelly tidied the case, filling the racks with the fresh-baked goods.
The front door opened, and Kelly watched a man back inside. What is he doing? Hunched forward, he appeared to be carrying something.
She noticed a black Suburban she’d never seen before parked across the way. “Can I help you?” She moved to the edge of the case to get a better view.
The stranger scooted in, shuffling one step at a time.
“Sir, do you need help?”
Voices carried as the man cleared the doorway and a cluster of people rushed inside, filling the space.
It took her about four seconds to put it together, which was two seconds longer than it took Sara, who was already squealing like she’d been stuck with a pin.
It was Martin Schlipshel. The Martin Schlipshel. The handsome host of the Four Square Cooking Show, and one of the world’s most amazing pastry chefs himself.
“Kelly McIntyre?”
“Yes, sir!” She wiped her hands on her apron smoothing it as she ran around the counter to shake his hand. “Mr. Schlipshel, it’s an honor to have you in my bakery.”
“Call me Martin.”
Her insides were practically inside out with excitement. “Martin. Yes. Welcome.” Did I just curtsy? Must have been his accent. She slowly cast her eyes to the side. The man who’d backed in first carried a movie camera, and it was aimed right at Martin.
“Someone who thinks you’re one top baker submitted your name to our competition. We’ve had an undercover customer come in, and we’ve even ordered from your online menu to try them for ourselves.” He glanced to an older gentleman on his right.
Kelly recognized him as the gray-haired man who’d come in last week. He’d eaten more desserts in one sitting than she’d seen in a long, long time. Only the time the football team had come in after they’d won the state championship had she seen someone devour that many desserts so quickly. She waved to him. “Welcome back.”
Martin shoved a red chef’s jacket that bore the television show logo on the front left pocket in her direction. “Four Square Cooking Show has selected you to be one of the contestants on our new Valentine’s Day Bake-off!”
She gasped, taking in so much air so fast that she almost doubled over. “Oh!” The back of her throat seemed to be closing, and boy, was she going to be mad if she had a heart attack and died right here and now before she got to compete on that show.
“You know the show?”
Kelly struggled to keep her wits about her. “Do I know it? I—”
Sara ran to her side. “We love that show. We even have a TV in the factory. Everyone that works here loves your show.”
“I’ve created new recipes out of some of the challenges you’ve thrown your contestants. I might add that I think mine would have won.” Kelly glanced at the gray-haired man. “I remember how much you liked my ‘Avocado Get Home’ cupcake.”
“Guilty,” he said. “I still can’t believe there was avocado in that frosting.”
“Excellent!” Martin turned his attention back to Kelly. “Then you know our bake-offs are a blind competition. No one can know you’re going to be on the show. That means both of you have to keep this a secret.”
“We can do that,” Kelly
